Chapter 4: Mr. Mysterious

ZADEN'S POV

Silverstone pack

I arched a brow, my head tilting ever so slightly to the side, as though the motion might steady the unrest stirring beneath my composure. It didn’t

“You haven’t said a word,” he noted.

“There is nothing to say, Father.”

The response came without hesitation. My hands remained clasped behind my back, my posture disciplined to the point of rigidity.

A faint shift crossed his expression, not surprise, never that, but something quieter.

“You defy me?” he asked, almost idly.

His fingers rested along the arm of his chair, his attention drifting momentarily to the glass of wine cradled in his hand.

“You intend to marry me off to one of Alpha Garren’s daughters,” I said, my voice even, each word placed with care.

"Without my consent.”

My eyes traced the ease of his posture, one leg crossed lazily over the other.

“I have no interest in this arrangement.”

“What I did,” he said smoothly, “was for your own good, son.”

A humorless breath slipped past my lips.

“No, Father,” I replied, already turning away. “Everything you’ve ever done has been for your own interest.”

I took a step forward, intent on leaving.

“I’ve had a long day,” he continued, unfazed. “Before this discussion, I secured the contract with the Alpha of Greenwoods. If you have any regard for me at all, spare me this argument.

Barely had I taken a few strides when I heard his voice cut across the room from behind me.

“In time, you’ll understand,” he added.

“This benefits all of us.”

I heard him say it but continued walking without a care in the world.

“You will heed my words… and you will choose from Garren’s daughters.”

My jaw tightened, a bitter scoff pressing at the back of my throat, as my steps faltered.

“And how,” I asked, my gaze sharpening as I glanced over my shoulder, “does any of this benefit me?”

"Perhaps you fail to see it,” he replied calmly. “But I do. And so does the Moon Goddess. My decision is final.”

Of course it was.

It always was.

He wrapped his will in righteousness, never failing to point out the moon goddess in every unnerving decision, as though that alone made it unquestionable.

Slowly, I turned to face him fully. My gaze settled on his face; his calm exterior was infuriating.

“Drop this.”

The words left my lips before I could stop them, my hands sliding into my pockets as I turned slightly away.

“And risk a war brewing from my incompetence to meet the demands of an already signed contract? I don't think so.

Inside me, my wolf Ryan stirred, a low, dangerous growl reverberating through my chest.

He felt it too. The anger. The insult.

It pressed hard against my restraint, demanding release.

Still, I held it back.

“What makes you think,” I continued, a faint, deliberate smile tugging at my lips, “that I’ll bend to your demands?”

I knew exactly what I was doing.

Testing him.

Pushing the very limits of his patience.

His gaze never left mine as he lifted the glass of wine to his lips. He drained it slowly, deliberately, before setting it aside with a quiet, careless thud.

He remained there, composed, immovable.

Every inch the ruler he believed himself to be. Watching me… as though peeling through layers I refused to expose.

I hated it.

Hated the way he made everything feel inevitable.

“Well,” he began at last, reaching for the half-filled bottle, “you have always been my favorite. I won’t deny that.”

He poured himself another glass with unhurried ease.

“Tell me… do you think your brother Julian would make a good Alpha?”

For a brief moment, I stilled, caught off guard by his words.

“I don’t know,” I replied evenly, mirroring his tone. “You tell me.”

A deep, amused laugh escaped him.

“I think, with the right discipline, he could. The boy has proven himself… more than once.”

My expression hardened.

“And me?” I asked quietly, the restraint in my voice thinning.

“Have I not proven myself? Have I not proven myself worthy in many ways? But you have resorted to cheap blackmail, just to have me cower before you."

“You speak out of truth.”

“I speak the truth.”

My gaze sharpened, unyielding.

“Learn something, Zaden,” he said, swirling the wine in his glass. “Not everything revolves around you. Sometimes, we act for the greater good.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m nothing like you,” I shot back, the words cutting clean.

“This is my life. I should have a say in it.”

He looked away, dismissing me—but I wasn’t finished.

“The Moon Goddess chooses our mates, not you. Or has power made you arrogant enough to believe you can rewrite fate?”

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I had crossed a line.

Silence followed, heavy, suffocating.

“The young are impulsive,” he said at last, his voice colder now. “I have a beast under my roof, snarling without control. Is this how you intend to rule? With defiance and temper?”

I didn’t answer.

There was nothing left to say.

So I turned and walked away.

“Ponder on my words, son,” he called after me.

But my resolve had already hardened.

The spiral staircase curved upward, each step echoing faintly beneath my feet. My frown deepened with every stride, tension coiling tighter in my chest.

At that same moment, Kael appeared above, descending with unhurried ease, his hands tucked into his pockets as though the world bent to his pace.

His golden eyes caught the dim light, gleaming beneath that same inscrutable veil that always seemed to precede him.

He paused, his gaze lingering just a fraction too long.

My steps did not falter; I brushed past him without a word, the sound of my steps striking the polished floor with deliberate precision.

“The wolf looks angry,” he remarked as he continued downward. “Care to explain why, Father?”

I didn’t stop, but I listened.

“The wolf chose to challenge the Alpha,” my father replied calmly. “That’s what happened.

*************

ENISA'S POV

Moonstone pack

We arrived at the pack estate later that evening.

As I stepped out of the car, I expected the same maids who had fussed over Iris earlier to appear and help with the bags. Instead, they were nowhere to be seen, vanished as though they had never been there at all.

A dull ache pulsed through my body from carrying shopping bags all day. My feet were throbbing, the strain biting into my arches, but there was no one else to do it.

So I braced myself.

One by one, I gathered the bags from the car boot and hauled them inside.

The moment I crossed the threshold, my gaze drifted unwittingly to Iris.

She was already lounging comfortably, a glass of chilled juice in hand as she spoke on the phone, her tone light and careless.

I gestured toward the bags, silently asking where they should go.

Her eyes swept over me from head to toe, assessingly, before she looked away, dismissing me completely.

“Put the pink shopping bags in her room, and the blue ones in mine.”

The voice came from the dining area. My head snapped toward Vedica, who sat at a table already presented with delicacies to feast on.

Suppressing the irritation rising in my chest, I carried the bags to Iris’s room and set them carefully on her bed.

For a moment, I lingered.

The king-sized bed looked impossibly soft, inviting in a way that made my tired body ache even more. I was tempted to sink onto it, just for a second, to let the exhaustion swallow me whole.

But I didn’t.

I drew in a steady breath and turned toward the door, ready to leave.

Then something clicked.

A sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through me, making my eyes widen.

I paused, then quickly retraced my steps back to the bed.

Glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching, I began to sift through the shopping bags.

It didn’t take long to find it.

The dress that he had bought for me, the stranger at the shopping mall.

Carefully, I pulled it out, then slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

As I made my way back to my own room, I couldn't help but wonder aloud… would I ever see him again? Mr. Mysterious.